A college student found dead over the weekend in a Duluth creek had been drinking before he slipped from a trail and fell 75 feet, authorities said Monday.
The body of Kyle M. Noble, a University of Minnesota Duluth student from Baudette, Minn., was recovered Saturday afternoon from Chester Creek near Chester Park Drive and 8th Street.
The St. Louis County Sheriff's Office revealed Monday that Noble was last seen by a family member about 2 a.m., Saturday. He left that relative's residence for his home and fell from the trail sometime afterward, the Sheriff's Office added.
"There does not appear to be any foul play, [and] alcohol was a factor" in Noble's death, a statement from the Sheriff's Office read.
While autopsy results were pending, the statement went on to say that Noble's death appears to have been accidental and personnel who pulled him from the creek noticed that he suffered obvious head injuries.
The body was recovered in a portion of the creek that has a deep gorge beneath a bridge. That spot is about three-quarters of a mile south of the campus' southern edge.
Nobles, who was studying mechanical engineering at UMD, graduated from Lake of the Woods High School in 2011.
Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482
